LG released the G4 Stylus in the Philippines just last month. It is aimed at consumers who prefer an Android smartphone with a large display, G4-like design, stylus, 13MP camera with Laser AF, and affordable price. But is it enough to entice buyers considering the competition in almost the same price range? Find out by reading our full review.
Design and Construction
With the “G4” in its name, the G4 Stylus bears some resemblance to the flagship G4. While the G4 sports a 5.5-inch screen, the G4 Stylus’s is slightly larger at 5.7 inches but with a lower HD resolution resulting to a pixel density of 258ppi. It also has an IPS panel which gives off decent wide-viewing angles.
Placed above the display are the earpiece, notifications light, and the 5 megapixel camera. Down below is the LG logo. Like the G4, the G4 Stylus uses on-screen navigation buttons.
Like most smartphones equipped with rear keys, the left and right sides are barren, allowing the device to flaunt its plastic frame with brushed-metal finish. However, if you look at the top you will see the headset jack, microphone, and the slot for the Rubberdium Stylus Pen. Down at the bottom are the microUSB port and the microphone.
Flip the G4 Stylus and you will find the 13 megapixel camera, LED flash, the famous rear keys for power/lock and volume, Laser AF, loudspeaker, and the LG logo.
If you have noticed, the removable backplate sports shiny metallic finish which really looks like a thin sheet of metal. And if you look closely, you will see that it is textured with tiny slits which makes it look attractive, grippy, and nice to hold at the same time. Take that backplate off and you will see the removable 3,000mAh battery, two microSIM card slots, and the microSD card slot.
Display and Multimedia
The G4 Stylus packs a 5.7-inch display which puts it in the “phablet” category. It has a HD resolution which equates to 258ppi. It’s not pixel-packed but it’s decent and easy on the eyes. Quality-wise, the screen is vibrant with good colors and details. It also features an IPS panel so viewing angles are good. On the downside, the display suffers greatly from glare especially when used outdoors. There’s no auto-brightness feature as well which makes it cumbersome to adjust brightness.
The loudspeaker found at the rear can produce sounds with decent loudness. Quality is inclined towards trebles though to the point that it sounds a bit tinny. Inside the music player you can adjust the pitch and speed of the music as well as play around with equalizer but the latter only applies when you have headphones plugged in.
OS, UI, and Apps
Running the software department of the G4 Stylus is Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with LG’s UX 4.0 on top. We must say that UX 4.0 is one of the most eye-pleasing UIs around that matches Lollipop’s Material design. Icons are colorful but not toyish while the layout feels simple yet organized.
Below are the software features of the G4 Stylus:
* QuickMemo+ – for note taking using the Rubberdium stylus
* Dual Window – Split screen, use two apps at once
* Rearrangeable Home touch buttons
* Built-in multiple font types and sizes
* Double tap to wake
* Shortcut Key – press and hold volume up for QuickMemo+ and volume down for Camera
* QuickCircle Case support
* Built-in battery saver
When it comes to apps, the G4 Stylus only has Google apps pre-installed considering that it only has 8GB of internal storage. Less the 4.5GB from the System Files and you’re only left with around 3.5GB worth of usable storage which is very small. On the bright side, it supports microSD cards with Move to SD Card feature. No support for USB OTG.
Camera
When it comes to imaging, the G4 Stylus is equipped with a 13 megapixel main shooter with LED flash, and Laser AF. The front has a 5 megapixel camera with a wide-angle lens and Beautify feature. The rear camera’s auto-focus performance is relatively quick especially in bright conditions.
Image quality is sharp with vibrant colors but tends to have a bluish tinge when shooting indoors. It’s not a serious issue though as it can be easily edited using your favorite editing app. In-camera modes are very limited though as you only have Auto and Panorama.
As for video recording, the G4 Stylus can shoot 1080p videos at 30fps in MP4 format. It’s sharp with decent colors but could use some improvement when it comes to contrast. Watch the sample below:
Performance, Benchmarks, and Call Quality
Given the hardware configuration, don’t look at the G4 Stylus as a gaming device. With a 1.4GHz MediaTek MT6592 octa-core CPU, Mali-450 MP GPU, and 1GB LPDDR3 RAM, it’s only good for light to medium tasks. Although UI navigation is smooth with good stylus response, app launches and switches tend to be slower than we’d like. It would have been better though if LG provided it with 2GB RAM considering the price.
* AnTuTu – 29,876
* Quadrant Standard – 17,806
* Vellamo – 1,274 (Multicore), 725 (Metal), 1,677 (Chrome)
* 3D Mark Ice Storm Extreme – 4,532
Call quality is good on the G4 Stylus and accepts to micro-sized SIM cards. There’s no LTE so you’re stuck with 3G mobile data and there’s no NFC as well.
Battery Life
While the CPU, RAM, and internal storage seem underwhelming, LG made sure that the battery life is not something to scoff at. Packed with a 3,000mAh removable battery it was able to last 9 hours 34 minutes on PC Mark’s battery bench.
In our routine test which involves playing a 1080p file on loop in Airplane mode at 50% brightness and volume with headset plugged in, and we got a good 12 hours and 9 minutes worth of playback.
Conclusion
The LG G4 Stylus is a stylish and good-looking smartphone with a nice large display and a decent camera with Laser AF. It also comes with a stylus for those moments that you want to use it as a notepad. Although useful, the overall experience is impaired by the very limited RAM and internal storage. You can ignore this if you’re a very light user but for it’s asking price of Php10,990 it will be difficult considering that its competitors are offering better specs at a much lesser cost.
LG G4 Stylus specs:
5.7-inch HD IPS display, 258ppi
1.4GHz MediaTek MT6592M octa-core CPU
Mali-450 MP GPU
1GB LPDDR3 RAM
8GB internal storage
microSD card support up to 32GB
13MP rear camera w/ Laser AF, LED flash
5MP front camera
Dual-SIM
3G
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.1
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Android 5.0 Lollipop
3,000mAh battery
Rubberdium Stylus Pen
154.3 x 79.2 x 9.6 mm
163g
What we liked:
* Good build and design
* Laser-guided autofocus
* Stylus included
* Nice UI design
What we did’t like:
* Limited RAM and internal storage
* Pricey given the specs and competitor offerings
* No LTE
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